3,000 Years Ago
by Rondabunny
Summary: Xena found a strange girl who is too smart for her age. The warrior princess tries to understand if this child is just a prodigy, a goddess send to the world of people or maybe even something more unusual?
1. Chapter 1

**3,000 Years Ago**

**by Rondabunny**

**Part 1**

Xena the warrior princess was riding slowly her horse along the street of a small town when suddenly an amazing scene attracted her attention. She saw a group of boys methodically beating a smaller one, but she had to render this boy her due because no matter how hard he was beaten he tried as hard as he could to defend himself. He slapped and kicked the other boys in a very unusual style. He jumped from one foot to another swiftly throwing his hands at one-two, one-two punching the others. Sometimes the hits came as one-two-three-four. He protected his face and tried not to fall down but failed. Six older boys and this little one weren't a match. They whipped him off feet and started to beat him. Xena let out her warrior cry and in a second she dispersed all the gang. She offered the little one her hand.

"_Thanks,"_ the child stood up wiping the blood that ran down the eyebrow. His whole face and body were a mess. Lips were bleeding too. Arms from shoulders till hands were in bruises. Knuckles were red of blood. Legs covered in bruises and scratches.

"_Nice look."_ Xena took a clean cloth from the bag on her horse, moistened it with water from the water-skin and pressed to child's wounded eyebrow. The kid hissed and wrinkled but was thankful for help.

"_What's happened?"_ She asked the kid.

"_I don't know. I was sleeping in that stable when they came and started to tease me, call me names and then beat me." _

"_Where are your parents?"_

"_Died a year ago. My relatives sold me in slavery. I ran away,"_ the child felt that he could trust this woman. It seemed to him he knew her but he couldn't understand when or where he met this woman. Actually, he understood it quite well in his head but the words didn't come. Everything in this world was awkward and strange. _"What is your name?"_

"_Xena,"_ the woman replied pressing harder, trying to stop the bleeding.

"_Xena?..."_ the child pronounced feeling this word in his mouth. The kid began to understand where he was, but "HOW?" that was the most important question.

"_Xena, the warrior princess?"_ He asked again as if taken aback by this revelation.

"_Yes, what's so surprising?"_

"_Nothing, just… you're so tall,"_ he didn't find what to say but it really surprised him that people around were taller than he was. It couldn't be at this era at least according to the history books people had to be several inches smaller but not in this world.

"_And your name is?"_ Xena moistened the cloth covered in blood once again to wash some other bruises.

"_Gina, nice to meet you…"_ The kid didn't know how to address to the savior.

"_You're a girl?!"_ Now it was Xena's turn to be astonished. This little creature covered in scratches and bruises was not a boy but a small girl.

"_Do you know many guys with name Gina?"_ She looked at Xena with dark brown piercing eyes.

"_No, I don't. Who taught you to fight? You have a strange style but it looked like a professional one."_

"_I'm a gladiator in octagon,"_ the girl didn't want to say gladiator but she couldn't pronounce MMA fighter here in this alien universe. It was like the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't tell the truth.

Xena smiled: _"Yeah, of course. And I'm the ruler of Athens. You're too little to be a gladiator. Besides, women-slaves can't be gladiators, men only."_

"_Why does everyone treat me as a child? I'm not a child! I'm a 32 year old woman!" _The girl grabbed the cloth from Xena's hands and pressed it angrily to her eyebrow. Xena laughed.

"_Oh, then I'm even younger than you are. Fine, let's stop this. I see a girl about 10 years old, who is beaten black and blue and who speaks nonsense because every inch of her body hurts so much that she would rather speak nonsense than cry,"_ Xena partially reprimanded partially wanted to calm her down.

"_I don't believe you. A day ago I fought in octagon and the opponent sent me into knockout. I don't remember what happened after that. I don't understand how I ended up here," _She sounded angry and frustrated. Now she told the truth though she was sure that Xena wouldn't believe her. Nobody did. This made things even worse.

"_Shhh, everything will be alright. Let's find an inn where we can eat and I can treat your wounds. Come on."_ The woman took her horse by the bridle. The child plodded along.

They found an inn, Xena paid for a room and asked the inn-keeper to give them some buckets with water. She ordered dinner for the girl.

"_Eat and wait here until I come,"_ she told the girl and left.

The woman returned soon with two packages and small sack with bottles.

"_What's this?"_ Gina asked looking puzzled at one of the packages.

"_Your clothes are ruined. Besides, these are garments for boys and you're a girl."_

"_Oh, thank you,"_ Gina was grateful to have something appropriate to wear.

"_Fine, first of all let me treat your wounds. Take off your shirt,"_ the woman told the child.

Gina turned her back to the warrior and in one smooth movement took off the rags that covered her upper body. Xena sat on the chair and examined the back. It had some bruises here and there. Maybe the girl received them from that bunch of boys who beat her an hour ago. They weren't serious.

"_Turn to me,"_ Xena asked.

The princess warrior had to bite her lip in order not to laugh out loud. This girl was standing clasping hands protectively to her bosom as if there was anything to be ashamed of.

"_What are you doing?"_ Xena asked trying to wipe a wide grin from her face.

"_Nothing,"_ replied the girl pressing arms even closer to her chest.

"_You're too shy for a small girl. What are you hiding there?" _

"_My boobs," _the child said uncertainly.

"_Oh, I see,"_ the woman smirked, _"you mean little pimples that maybe only started to swell up and hurt a little two days ago." _

"_No, I'm an adult woman!"_ the child jerked away when Xena wanted to touch her.

"_Come here and look."_

There was no mirror in the room but Xena prepared a basin with water to wash the bruises. She asked the girl to come and watch the reflection in the water. The child awkwardly approached the basin still embracing her chest and looked in the water. She thought that if she closed her eyes everything would go away. She did it yesterday but nothing had changed. She was in this hell and it wasn't a dream. The bruises hurt badly and when she communicated with people and fought the boys everything was real. She felt pain, hunger, despair and fear. Fear that she could never come back to the reality she was from. Gina looked carefully in the surface trying to understand why she's like this not the woman she used to be in reality. The water reflected a kid of about 9 or 10 years old covered in wounds and bruises. She knew where they were from, though she was shocked of how hard was the last fight and maybe this was only the after effect of it and she was just dreaming.

On the other hand, Xena saw a 10 year old girl upset and frustrated as if she lost something very important in her life. Gina had dark straight hair just like Xena's. It only was cut shorter exactly covering her jaw-line. She had dark brown eyes, a turned up nose and her lips formed a perfect bow. She resembled a small goddess if not a black eye, gash on her right eyebrow, swollen cheek-bone and bruised lips. Her poor boy's garments had trashes and holes everywhere. She was barefoot and all her form was pitiful to loot at. Xena watched as the little girl unclasped her arms to see what she was trying so hard to protect. Of course, Xena was right. Her breasts just began to swell as many girls' bodies only start changing at her age. Except for two tiny stings that she proudly called 'boobs' her chest was flat as a board.

"_Surprised?" _

"_You won't understand," _the child said softly turning to face the warrior princess. At this time she left her chest uncovered.

"_Let me see if I can help."_

The woman moistened a cloth in the basin and very gently began to wipe away the dust from girl's body. Even Xena was shocked to see so many blue, red and purple bruises on a child. Gina had a purple bruise on her neck as if somebody was choking her. Rib cage was also covered in bruises of different color. Left nipple was red and swollen. It seemed as somebody punched her hard in the chest. The abdomen area also didn't look nice.

"_Who did this to you?" _Xena stared worriedly at the child.

"_I told you but you didn't believe me. I'm a professional fighter. A day ago I was fighting a very strong opponent. She was maybe more powerful and skillful or it wasn't my lucky day. I can't say right now. We punched each other hardly. I tried to withstand her attacks but ended up on the floor when she gripped me in a vice. Her arms were around my neck and she started to choke me. I unscrewed myself from this lethal grip and made an attempt to throw her off of me and get up but took an elbow to my temple. I don't remember what happened next. I woke up in the forest in these garments and strange state. My head is still aching like hell. I went all day through the forest until I found this town."_ Gina wanted to tell that she's not from this universe or this time. The words stuck in her mouth and the only thing she produces was a groan when Xena pressed the cloth to one of her bruises harder than necessary.

"_I'm sorry,"_ the mighty warrior apologized. _"You're right. I don't believe you. I've never seen kids in octagon. This is something new. Don't even think catch me hung up on the story that you're an adult woman. You're a bad liar. On the other hand, you were struck in the head. It explains your foolish story. Still I'll help you."_

Gina didn't say anything. She just frowned and let the woman treat her wounds. Xena bandaged her hands because skin on knuckles was torn off and every time the child tried to ball her fists the wounds started to bleed. The warrior washed the wounds and scratches at girl's legs and bandaged her knee that also had a bad scratch. Then she gave Gina some privacy to wash her intimate places only because the child stared at her so furiously when she only thought of touching the rope that was used as a belt for her pants, that Xena smirked and let that go at least for now.

Xena finished washing her own clothes after 'a bath' that she made for herself that included two buckets of water and a small bar of soap. She also made Gina wash her hair with the soap. The warrior princess didn't hide her amenities because in ancient times the Roman people thought of the body as of the god's vessel which must be adored and worshipped.

"_It's time to go to sleep,"_ said Xena after both of them were fresh and dressed in undergarment dresses.

"_And where will you sleep?" _Gina asked not sure if in the bed for one person could sleep two people.

"_Here, silly,"_ Xena pointed to the bed.

"_Then, where I would sleep?" _the girl bit her lip awkwardly.

"_Together with me," _the woman replied nonchalantly.

"_It's too small for two people."_

"_It too small for two adult people but you're little. Don't worry I won't let you fall from it."_

"_I would rather sleep on the floor if you have some kind of a blanket." _The child proposed.

"_Why? Are you afraid that I suffocate you at night?"_ Xena raised her brow.

"_No, I don't sleep well. I can kick when I'm sleeping." _She tried to find an excuse.

"_I'll cope with it. Get in."_ Xena uncovered the blanket for Gina.

The girl rolled her eyes but got under the blanket. The woman followed her example and blew out the candle. After a long time of being awake and motionless the girl wanted to get out of the bed to let the woman sleep.

"_Where are you going?"_ asked the female voice and Gina shivered.

"_Nowhere. I can't sleep," _she responded.

"_Why?" _Xena raised herself on her elbow and stared at the child. Her eyes already got used to darkness of the room because she wasn't asleep either.

"_What if I fall asleep and you will leave me. I don't know where to go or how to survive. I don't know what to do."_

"_Are you scared?" _The woman asked.

"_If I were an adult it would be another situation but I'm a child in this god forgotten place."_

"_Hey, mind you language. I won't go anywhere until I find you a place to live."_

"_Promise?" _

"_I promise."_ The warrior said.

"_No, vow the life of your mother that you won't leave me."_

"_Hm, who taught you this?"_

"_So, now you won't vow because you will leave me at the earliest opportunity."_

"_On the one hand, you trust me, on the other hand, you tell me I'm a liar," _Xena frowned.

"_Vow, then, or are you afraid?"_

"_Fine, I vow the life of my mother that I won't leave you until I find an appropriate place for you. Now get in the bed and let's sleep." _Xena's voice was strong as steel.

Gina snuggled beside the warrior woman and closed her eyes ready to fall into the world of Morpheus.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Please, leave your comments.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**3,000 Years Ago**

**by Rondabunny**

**Part 2**

Gina woke up in the morning to find that Xena was long gone. Where were no things, on the table she discovered a mug of milk and a big piece of a meat pie. Xena's things weren't seen anywhere, so, the girl made the conclusion that no matter what vows the woman had to give her everything was in vain. It was strange to use a chamber pot instead of comfortable lavatory pan but "O tempora! O mores!" (what times! what habits!) She couldn't change anything here. It was ancient time and she had to adapt to it somehow. The girl ate the pie which was really good or she was really hungry. After she drank milk she tried to use some water from the jug near a small basin to wash her face and for the first time she used her finger to 'brush' her teeth because people didn't know much about hygiene here. She put on a dress over her undergarment one and put on the boots made of pure leather. They were comfortable but it seemed they wouldn't last long as if the soles were made out grass and leather woven together. The girl looked the last time at the room a few minutes later she was in the yard of the inn.

"_Ah, finally! I was about to go and wake you up, sleepyhead."_ Xena's voice came from behind.

"_Xena, I thought you left me,"_ Gina couldn't hide her happiness to see the woman but her smile on a bruised and swollen face was a sorry sight.

"_Holly gods, you need some snakes on your head and you'll kill everybody only with your look,"_ Xena approached the girl staring very concerned at her sore face.

"_Don't worry, it's not the first time I'm looking like this. A week or two and everything will be alright," _she smiled.

Xena didn't share Gina's enthusiastic mood. Girl's eyebrow was swollen and blood drained to her eye so the eyelid swell too and covered half of the eye. Lips were too dry and when she smiled they cracked and started bleeding. The swelling on her cheekbone diminished a little but the bruise became purple and the other eye was black. Xena took a clean cloth from a small bag on her hip and pressed it to girl's chin to stop the blood dropping on the gown.

"_How is your head still aching?"_ The warrior asked.

"_No, whatever you put in that tea helped. I feel only the pain from bruises. The head isn't aching anymore. Thank you."_

"_Come here, seat on the bench." _The woman opened her bag, took out different bottles with ointments and tinctures and began treating the bruises again. While she was doing this the girl sat calmly only sometimes hissing if the pain was too unbearable.

"_You're a very quiet patient,"_ Xena told the girl really proud of her behavior.

"_The wounds should be treated, if not I may have aggravation and the pain will be even worse than this,"_ the girl said nonchalantly.

"_You're a brave girl. Have your memory returned yet?" _

"_What do you mean?" _the child didn't understand the question because she remembered all very well.

"_You're story of a gladiator fighting in octagon didn't impress me much. Do you remember how you ended up in the forest?"_ Xena looked the girl in the eyes.

"_I told you the truth. I don't have any other memories because this story is the only true one. If you don't believe me then I can't tell you anything else, I'm sorry,"_ Gina sounded angry and hurt that the woman didn't believe her.

"_Fine, I don't have time for all of this rubbish. We have to move,"_ Xena closed her bag in a swift motion and went to the stall to take Argo.

When the princess warrior approached Gina was a little bit scared of such a big animal. She used to ride horses in her world but here in this child's body Argo seemed to be a giant.

"_I would rather walk."_ She said quickly and made a step back from the horse.

"_Don't be afraid of Argo. She is a wonderful lady."_ Xena clapped the horse on the back.

"_I can't even reach the stirrup."_

"_Come here." _

Gina came closer and within a second she was sitting on the back of the horse. The woman lifted her up as a fluff. She just had a moment to grasp the saddle and sit properly on the horse. The woman sat behind her and took the reins. In several minutes they were at the border of the wood near a lake. A bunch of boys were splashing in water. They definitely weren't having fun. One of the boys swam in the middle of the lake dragging something with him. As Xena came closer she saw that he dragged the body of another boy of the same age but he was definitely unconscious or even dead. The woman immediately jumped from the horse and ran to the boys. She turned the boy on one side and pressed his chest to make the water flow from him but nothing happened. Gina ran to her.

"_It is too late. Let's try another way. I close his nose and try to breathe in his mouth as much air as I can. You press his chest in the heart area. Try not to break his ribs."_ The girl started CPR.

Xena wasn't sure about this method but she tried it her way and it didn't help. Gina breathed and asked the woman to make three or four presses to boy's chest. After a minute the boy coughed water and started breathing.

"_How did you know what to do?"_ One of the boys asked.

"_My mother was a healer,"_ Gina lied standing up. Her lips began bleeding again.

"_Aren't these the same boys who beat you yesterday?"_ The woman asked curiously.

"_We didn't know that she's a girl,"_ the oldest of them found an excuse.

"_So, what? You want to tell me that it is a brave deed to beat smaller boys?"_ Xena raised one brow.

"_We are sorry. We won't do that again."_ The older boy finally apologized.

"_It's fine. Don't worry,"_ the girl replied.

"_We didn't hit her that hard. She was already in bruises,"_ the smaller one spoke.

"_Thank you for saving my brother,"_ another boy gave her a hand to shake. Gina did so.

"_Where is your cloth? The lips are bleeding again."_ Xena found a clean cloth and gave it to the girl. _"Let's go, we have a long road to cover."_

"_Don't swim too far if you can't swim," _The woman warned the boys.

In a swift lift Gina was already on the back of the horse and the princess warrior was behind her. They moved further.

"_Where did you learn how to push out the water from his lungs?"_ Xena sounded curious.

"_I told you, my mother was a healer. The technique is called "mouth to mouth breathing". You have to press the chest to make the heart beat again and breathing helps lungs to fill in with air."_ Gina couldn't pronounce CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation because there were no such words in this world but at least she could explain how it works.

"_Amazing that a little girl knows so much about internal organs and how they work. Who were your parents?" _

Gina wanted to say that her father was a quarterback but instead of this her mouth pronounced: "_My father was a merchant and my mother was a healer." _She was shocked to hear her own voice speaking such bullshit, but in this time and place there were no American football and she was just a 10 year old girl not an MMA fighter.

"_What happened to your parents?" _Xena was extremely persistent.

"_Dad was killed in battle when Gallic tribes came to our town. My mother had died treating diphtheria a year earlier. My aunt, father's sister, sold me at the slave market. I ran away." _Gina couldn't believe the words her mouth has just uttered. It was unbelievable story and she didn't even think about it. The world made her do things she didn't expect to do. She read a lot of books when the main character got into a fantasy world and had wonderful skills to make his way in this reality but she has never read about any character, which lost at least 20 years of her life and was totally vulnerable. In addition, the world made her do the things she didn't want. It was as surreal as being Alice in Wonderland. She closed her eyes and shook her head wanting to open them and to see her own universe of the 21st century.

"_What's wrong?"_ Xena asked when the child shook the head as if a fly got in her ear.

"_Nothing, the sun is shining right in the eyes." _The girl made a wry face.

"_I'm sorry about your parents. How did you end up in octagon? It is restricted. Former gladiators or men who completely lost their dignity fight in octagon. There people fight till death and you're a child."_

"_As a slave my owner was the mistress's daughter, a girl of about 13 year old, very moody and unpredictable villain. She treated me badly and once it was too much I beat her and her friends who also humiliated me. Her father saw this and liked it. They started to train me as a new gladiator but I already knew some fighting moves because my father always wanted a boy. I was the only child, so he taught me fighting and brought teachers from different parts of the world to teach me this. That's how I started to fight in octagon," _Gina was surprised to hear all of this nonsense. Her voice was calm, though.

Xena rode for a while in silence digesting the information. The girl was thankful that there were no more questions and she didn't have to say the sentences she didn't even expect to think of.

"_You're a brave girl. Don't worry, nobody will hurt you anymore. You're safe for now and I'll find you a good place to live," _the princess warrior assured the girl.

"_Where are we going?"_

"_We're going to Lissus. A cyclop blocked the spring that gave water to all wells in the village. He collects payment from people who live in a village. Many of them had to flee their homes. Others stay because they have relatives to take care of." _Xena explained.

"_You mean cyclops are real?"_

"_And you thought they are only in fairy tales?"_ Xena grinned.

Gina shook her head absorbing the news. It was strange and unusual like everything in this world. After two hours of horse riding the silence was too annoying for the woman warrior.

"_Speak or I'll kill you,"_ she whispered in girl's ears.

"_I thought people don't like talkative kids I didn't know anything about silent ones,"_ the girl deflected.

"_You're too silent for a child. Did somebody send you to me?" _

"_You guarded me from those boys, remember? Nobody sent me."_

"_Maybe you made them beat you to attract my attention," _Xena hissed in the ear.

"_You're very suspicious for a warrior princess. Maybe you're not a warrior but a swindler who pretends to be Xena?" _Gina spat back. She was already tired to sit on the back of the horse for two hours in a row. Her legs became numb, the weather was too hot and now Xena tried to play tricks. She didn't want it. Her mind wasn't childish.

Suddenly, in a second the girl was on the ground and Xena stood above her pressing the fingers to her neck to block her blood flow. The whole body became numb. Gina couldn't move any finger. She felt just an unbearable pain as if somebody was choking her.

"_I cut your blood flow. You'll die in 30 seconds. Speak, who sent you?" _Xena shouted.

"_I can't tell you because I don't know what you are talking about. Though, if you kill me here maybe I'll revive in the place I'm from. I don't understand how I got here. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to explain it to you. If you want me to die maybe it's a good idea and this is just a horrible nightmare." _The child was scared not only because she couldn't move and she was choking but because this was the reality and she was lost in it.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Please, you're welcome to leave your comments.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**3,000 Years Ago**

**by Rondabunny**

**Part 3**

Xena pressed the spots that blocked the blood flow and the child could inhale deeply again.

"_I'm sorry. I though, you were a goddess. You know, sometimes gods want to play tricks on us and disguise as people we trust,"_ the woman apologized.

Gina was horrified, though. She crawled back from Xena trying to gulp air. She sat on the ground and curled in a ball hiding the head in her knees. The child burst out sobbing. The feeling of suffocating wasn't new for her. She experienced that so many times during the training and fights, so, she got used to it. Gina herself choked so many people that she knew exactly when to stop not to kill the person. The thing was she remembered her last fight when she couldn't get rid of her opponent's grasp even when she struggled hopelessly to find a way out of it. Her body betrayed her. Gina was too tired. Power fled from her arms she was knocked out.

"_Gina, I'm sorry. If you were a goddess you would have used the powers. I had to check. I'm so sorry,"_ Xena kneeled before the sobbing child and embraced her. _"I won't do it ever again. Please, don't cry. I didn't mean to scare you."_

But the girl couldn't stop crying. She kept too much pain for too long. Now came the time to let go, to set her feelings free. She hasn't seen her parents since the fight. It was horrible not to know how are they and how did they cope with her death or coma because there was no other way of her appearing in this strange universe. This frightened her to death. The tragedy was that Gina couldn't tell the truth to Xena or anybody. The world didn't let her do that. She was stuck and it only intensified her sorrow.

"_Shh, it's alright. Everything is going to be fine. I promise you,"_ Xena lulled the girl.

"_May I take some water to wash my face,"_ the childish voice spoke after 20 minutes of sobbing the soul out.

"_Yes, sure."_

Xena poured some water and Gina washed her face.

"_Drink some. It's hot today,"_ the woman proposed.

"_Can we walk for a while. My legs became so numb on the horse," _the girl begged.

"_It's because you didn't ride much, did you?" _Xena asked taking the reins making Argo to follow her.

"_No, I didn't. May I ask you some questions?"_

"_Shoot."_

"_Where is Gabrielle?" _

"_Who's Gabrielle?"_ The woman definitely didn't understand what the girl is talking about.

"_How long have you been travelling alone?"_ Xena's answer put Gina on guard.

"_For six months or so." _

"_How many villains have you killed since you abandoned the army?" _This started to be interesting.

"_I don't know, a dozen or two. I didn't count."_

"_Who was the last one that you killed? _Gina fired the questions.

"_For a child you're asking strange questions." _Xena glowered at the girl.

"_Five minutes ago you nearly killed me. I need to know who I'm travelling with." _

"_It wasn't five minutes ago. I've listened to your whining for an hour," _Xena teased the girl.

Gina bit her lip and became silent again. She passed a little bit faster to break away from Xena. The warrior princess rolled her eyes. When the girl approached the turning on the orad Xena called.

"_Gina, it is now safe to go through the forest alone."_

"_I was here before and I'm alive. I can take care of myself,"_ followed the reply.

Gina didn't do even few steps when five tall and very fit men appeared from behind the trees.

"_Whom do we have here? Oh, a child ran away from her family because they beat her black and blue. Tell me, Graham, what do we do with children?" _The ugliest of them spoke.

"_We eat them at breakfast,"_ the man spoke leaning on a long stick on the other side of which was a big ax.

The others grinned.

"_Believe me, I'm very tasteless. Besides, I'm not even fat. There is nothing to eat."_ Men's guffaw made her flesh creep.

"_Oh, don't worry. I already like you," _one of the men came closer and bowed to smell her hair.

The girl shivered. She could smell the reek of his breath on her face. Her stomach knotted. It was dangerous to hit him in the nose. She was too small and her knuckles still hurt from the last fight but his neck. Without thinking Gina punched him in the neck with all the power she had in her hand. Then the girl ran at the top speed while the man was trying to restore breathing.

"_Xena!"_ She has never thought that she could scream like a piglet but Gina didn't care right now. The girl definitely saw what she saw in man's face and it wasn't hunger, it was lust and animal desire. She had to run away from them.

"_Hey, where are you going?"_ one of the outlaws shouted.

"_A quick little pimp!"_ The other cried.

When one of the bastards was just behind her back and stretched his hand to grab the fabric of her dress, the girl heard a warrior cry and saw Xena making somersault right above her head. The woman landed face to face with the villain who already unsheathed the sword.

"_Like to scary little children try to scary me,"_ Xena made a fake smile. _"Gina, run!"_

The girl ran to Argo but then stood still enjoying the view. Back flips, handsprings. It seemed as if there was no gravity at all. Still it wasn't child's fight. She watched the woman attentively. The warrior princess shouted again for Gina to run but the girl couldn't take her eyes of the scene even when Argo ran away in the forest. Xena did everything not to hurt three men who were already attacking her at the same time. She blocked a sword, kicked the second man in the groin and parried the ax. Unfortunately, the man with the sword tried to hit her again from behind. The woman didn't have time to think, so she jabbed him with her sword while ducking lower to make the ax slide above her head. The man dropped the sword and fell on the ground blood coming from a deep gash in his chest. The fight was at its height when two other men appeared. One was stabbed with chakram another lost his sword and got some impressive kicks to his stomach and groin. He lost consciousness. The one that remained, decided to run away. In the conclusion, two were lying dead, one unconscious and two left their friends and arms to run away as fast as they could. Xena was covered with dust and was sweating but no obvious harm was seen on her body. The princess warrior took the chakram from the dead man's neck and turned to Gina.

"_When I tell you run it means you must run for dear life not to stand here like a statue,"_ Xena scolded the child.

"_I…I…I just."_

"_Are you alright?"_ the warrior asked the girl.

Gina gulped recovering from the shock.

"_Yes, I'm ok, thanks. Are they dead?" _The metallic smell of blood made her sick but she didn't vomit.

"_Those two? They are very dead. They could have been alive if you were somewhere in the forest together with Argo," _Xena said angrily wiping blood from her chakram and the sword.

Gina saw the series on TV hundreds of times. She knew very well how many people died in each episode but now it was the reality. This was the first time she saw people dying right here right now. It was frightening and disgusting. She wasn't afraid of blood. She got used to it during her own fights and training, but nobody died in MMA fights. There was a referee who stopped it when the person couldn't defend himself. Here the death was real.

"_Next time don't go away from me, understand?"_

"_Yes, Xena. I'm sorry." _Gina looked at the woman as she was an alien.

The next thing was the most horrible Gina has seen in her life. The woman warrior came to those dead outlaws and checked their pockets. She found some coins and took the necklace from the man's neck. Xena took the ax, two swords and two daggers that were lying on the ground. She put the daggers in her bag on the horse, tied the swords and ax together with a rope and bound everything to the saddle.

"_Do you always rob the dead people?"_ Gina asked really disgusted by the scene she was the witness of.

"_They don't need these things anymore. We can sell them to any armory and eat for several days on the money. They used weapons to rob people, if I defeated them then everything they have is mine. Don't you agree?" _Xena looked sternly at the child. Gina's questions irritated her more and more.

"_When I asked you how many people you've killed in this half a year, you told one or two dozen but you've already killed two more."_

"_I thought you asked about great villains. I didn't count robbers, swindlers and other riffraff."_

Suddenly they heard a slight moan coming from the unconscious man. Instead of giving him a chance to recover his conscious Xena punched his hard in the face. He didn't open his eyes and remained lying calm on the ground.

"_Shouldn't we help him?" _Gina asked in a small voice.

"_You may try. I'm going further."_

"_Yes, whatever," _Gina took one last look at two dead bodies in puddles of blood which soaked into the soil and followed the woman and the horse which already appeared from nowhere.

"_How do you think, how many robbers can we meet in this forest?"_ Gina asked not only of curiosity but of suspicion that rose in her mind.

"_Who knows, two of them got away. They may let others know that we are coming and make a trap. If they don't have a lot of men we're lucky and they won't attack us again. There are always two possibilities,"_ the woman explained.

"_What would we do?"_

"_Go back on the horse and try to move faster." _

"_Will that work?"_

"_Let's find out."_

Xena lifted the girl up on the horse, jumped on its back and trotted. They rode like that for half an hour then the princess warrior started the horse at a walk. They rode all day. Only once they stopped to have a break, eat some cabbage and apple pies and go into the bushes. At the end of the day Gina's body ached because of spending the whole day on the horse. Xena had a compassion on the girl and they walked for two hours until twilight.

"_We'll make a camp here. Soon it will be dark. Gather some wood. I'll make a fire. There is a spring over there. I'll fill in the water-skins and our pot. It'll be fine to eat something hot."_

Gina nodded and went for some dry branches. When she came back Xena was flaying a rabbit that seemed to appear from nowhere because the girl didn't remember seeing any game on their road through the forest. Again it was a shock. In the 21st century people see the food half prepared and already dead. When you see chicken without a head and prepared to be cooked it's one thing, though, to see the animal which was jumping two minutes ago and now the woman took off its skin, it's another.

"_What, never seen a rabbit before?" _She asked chopping off the paws of the poor animal because the skin didn't get off of them.

"_I've seen. I've never seen it to be flayed,"_ the girl dropped the dry wood on the ground.

"_Didn't your mother ever cook a rabbit stew?" _

"_No, she cooked. But we didn't kill them." _Gina squeezed her dress not knowing how to end up this awkward conversation.

"_Who did?"_

"_My father," _of course it was a lie. Her real father has never had any experience of killing any living creature, but this was not her universe. She couldn't say that in the future all the dead animals you can buy in a shop. So, she lied.

"_He never did it in your presence?" _

"_No."_

Xena just smirked: _"Fine, give me a small sack from the bag. We need some kitchen herbs to make it a little bit tasty."_

It was a miracle for Gina that from some herbs, a rabbit and some lentil a person can make such a delicious stew. It was a little bit spicy for her but very tasty.

"_This is delicious." _

"_Yes, it is. Next time you cook."_ Xena took a spoonful of stew and put it in her mouth.

"_I'll try,"_ Gina bit her lip not sure if she could do the same.

When the pot was empty and dishes were washed in the spring, Xena spread out some rugs and they went to sleep.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Guess, who is Gina? She is a real personality.**_

_**I may postpone writing another chapter for some time. Sorry, I have a lot of work to do. Thank you for your interest. **_


	4. Chapter 4

**3,000 Years Ago**

**Part 4**

**by Rondabunny**

Xena couldn't stand anymore the child's tossing and turning on the rag. Yes, the night was hot and even the woman felt drops of sweat forming on her forehead. The air was damp, the fire went out and swarms of mosquitos rushed towards them anticipating a great feast. The child was covered with a sheet but it didn't help very much.

"_Why aren't you sleeping?"_ Xena asked killing an annoying buzzing creature on her arm.

"_I can't they are eating me alive! And it's too hot under cover."_ the girl partially cried partially tried to be angry.

"_Children!"_ Xena muttered. She took out a small bottle from the bag and gave it to Gina. _"Rub yourself with this. It will help."_

Gina took it but there was very little liquid left: _"And you?"_

"_Don't worry. I'll survive." _

"_Thank you. Is it a wolf?" _Gina started rubbing herself with ointment when suddenly she heard a lingering howl.

"_Yes, it is. It's too far away. There's nothing to worry about," _the princess warrior reassured her.

"_What's in the bottle?"_ the girl asked trying to understand what it can be by its smell.

"_Decoction of a couch-grass root."_

"_Does it help against the mosquitoes?" _the girl was surprised to hear it. She's never read the composition of creams against mosquitos.

"_Yes, it's very late already, aren't you tired?" _Xena huffed.

"_Sorry,"_ Gina rubbed her whole body with the liquid and went to sleep.

It seemed as if she only closed her eyes a minute ago when the voice above her heralded.

"_Rise and shine, rainbow,"_ the warrior princess was mounting above her in all her leather grace. The rays of the rising sun filtered through the leaves of trees.

"_No, I fell asleep like a minute ago. Besides, only the sun can rise and shine but not a rainbow,"_ the girl got up very slowly as her whole body was sore from traveling all day long on horse.

"_When I see your face only in one colour but not in different colours then maybe you'll be the sun. Unfortunately now, it resembles a messy patchwork." _

"_That couldn't be that bad, could it? At least today I can open my eye even more." _Gina said proudly.

"_Uh-hu, and try the left one."_

"_Why, it is open." _The child tried hard to open it even wider.

Xena giggled.

"_What so funny?" _The child struggled to open her eye but the lid was too heavy, _"I can't open it! Why?!"_ she sounded scared.

The woman quit laughing and looked at the girl who was nearly crying. She kneeled beside Gina.

"_It will be fine. A mosquito bit you in the eye. It will disappear in few hours. Go to the spring and wash your face. Let's eat something and we have to go."_

When Gina returned from the spring they ate sandwiches with cheese and olives on sesame flat bread and drank water with a small amount of wine in it 'to clean it from different impurities' as Xena said.

"_Can we go on foot today?"_

"_It will be faster to ride or your body is so sore that you can't bear another day on the horse,"_ asked the woman greasing girl's face with oils and creams.

"_It's not comfortable to ride on a horse in this dress. It would have been better if you had bought me boy's clothes." _Gina pouted.

"_If this is the only problem then…"_ In one swift movement Xena ripped the sides of girl's dress.

"_Hey, what are you doing?"_ The child pronounced, though, it was too late. Now her dress was looking more like pieces of fabric sewn together from underarms to thighs.

"_Now it will be easier to ride. If you want I can rip off the rim too, to make it shorter. It'll be easier to move too." _The princess suggested.

"_No, thanks. I already look like a mess. Now I'm even dressed in rags!" _She scowled.

Xena rolled her eyes: _"While you are travelling with me, be kind, and steer clear of making complaints or I'll leave you somewhere in the wood where nobody will find you. Are we clear?"_

"_Yes, we are. Better tell me how you brush your teeth here, because I haven't brushed them for ages and that's not good for my health!" _Gina crossed arms on the chest and looked sternly at Xena.

"_Here, take this powder and this,"_ She gave the girl little purse with black powder and small branch smashed so that it was smooth in the end and looked like a brush.

"_Why is it black?" _The powder wasn't the colour Gina used to see in her life and the smell was even more disgusting.

"_These are ashes of burnt horns, wood, some eggshells and some sea salt."_

"_And you brush your teeth with it?" _the girl winced.

"_Do you brush it with something else then enlighten me." _She teased the child.

It took time to brush her teeth with this strange device and powder. The taste was even more disgusting.

"_Take it and chew,"_ Xena gave the girl some kind of dry weed.

"_What's it tobacco?" _The girl looked at the small dried leaves suspiciously.

"_I don't know what tobacco is but this is balm. It has a good taste and your mouth won't reek so much."_

"_Nice." _

They rode on the horse for some time when Xena noticed that Gina started dozing off. The girl hanged her head and put it up again as if she was falling asleep and was startled by something that woke her up again.

"_Gina, sit across." _

"_What?" _She murmured in a slumber.

"_Sit across, lean on me and sleep." _Xena proposed.

"_No, I don't want to sleep. It's just… I'm so tired."_

"_Because you have been tossing and turning all night long instead of sleeping."_

"_It was hot. Is it always so hot here?"_

"_Yes, it is summer as you could notice." _

Xena stopped the horse to let the child sit across the saddle.

"_Lean on me."_

"_No, I won't."_ The girl protested.

The thought that she had to lean on Xena's shoulder made Gina uncomfortable. How could a woman lean on the other one and sleep. This was unbearable! She couldn't afford to find herself in such an awkward situation.

"_Why? You're sleeping on the move. Now you'll be definitely sleeping." _

"_It won't be comfortable for you to ride." _She tried to find an excuse.

The princess warrior pulled the child closer to her chest.

"_Close your eyes and have some sleep. It will be a long day today."_

Gina wanted to struggle but Xena's grip was too firm and the girl surrendered. Gina couldn't have ever imagined sleeping in Lucy Lawless arms. She has never dreamed about it and the thought that she fell asleep like a log in another woman's arms made a knot coming to her throat because she was always strait in all the relationships. The girl forgot only one little thing. In this universe she was a child, just a ten-year old girl who didn't sleep all night and her body failed her. There was nothing to be ashamed of.

She woke up when the horse suddenly stopped. She put up her head and looked around.

"_Hey, did you sleep well?"_ Xena asked when Gina sat straight on the horse.

"_Yes, thanks."_ The girl rubbed her eyes with her fists.

"_We'll stop here for a while. There is a stream nearby. I need to water Argo and I would like to wash a little. It's too hot today." _The woman explained.

Gina nodded. Her dress became damp of sweat on the side where she was leaning on the woman. They spend some time near a small stream. It was enough to dip your hands in it and maybe to relax your feet in cool water. But everyone was happy. Argo drank for half an hour as if it was a camel not a horse. Xena took off her leather battle dress and remained in her under gown. She splashed happily as a child standing in the stream and taking some water in hands, throwing it up on her face and shoulders.

"_Take off your dress and wash a little. It's very refreshing." _The woman told the child.

Gina looked around. When she was sure that there's no one who would stare at her, she carefully took off her upper-dress and remained in undergarments. When she approached the stream, Xena splashed handful of water on the girl. Gina screamed in surprise to feel slightly cold water on her skin but in a minute she recovered and raised so much water with her hands and feet that Xena was soaked from head to toe in few seconds so was Gina. They were splashing and laughing for some time.

"_Fine, enough. I surrender,"_ the princess warrior was the first to finish this fight. _"Let's find a place to dry our clothes, eat and will go on."_

Xena was sitting in her fresh lingerie and eating olives, cheese and bread together with Gina who was still sulky with the woman because she didn't buy her another pair of undergarments and the girl absolutely refused to take off her completely soaked panties.

"_How could you forget to buy me another pair of lingerie?" _She reprimanded Xena with a frown.

"_Tell me, please, who is looking at you here? You are in a dress which covers everything."_

"_Yeah, except the big trashes on the sides through which you can see a lot, thanks to you." _The girl huffed.

"_You are too modest for a child. Actually, it's a miracle that I found a pair of panties for children at that shop. I don't know where you are from but in my village all the girls under 12 don't have anything under their dresses. Women wear panties only for their special needs." _

"_Oh, that's gross, you know. In the place where I live all children from the infantry wear panties." _Gina said as a matter of fact.

"_It seems to me, in your village live strange crazy parents, who torture their children."_ Xena concluded.

Gina just rolled her eyes. How could she explain the ancient woman that hygiene is important. Though, maybe Xena is right and we are too obsessed with moral norms and politeness. Anyway, Gina couldn't get used to the thing that woman could take off her clothes in front of the child without any shyness.

"_Further we will go on foot. I hope you've relaxed enough."_ Xena said.

She collected their things, put still damp clothes across the saddle to let them dry and they went.

"_Tell me, how are you going to call out a truce with that Cyclops?"_ The child spoke.

"_Who said I'm going to work out a truce? Cyclops don't bargain." _Girl's question made the princess warrior smile.

"_How are you going to defeat him? As I know, they are much bigger than men." _

"_Yes, they are. I don't know yet, I'll figure it out when we'll be at the place. I have to see what I can do." _Xena explained.

"_Can't you blind him with your chakram?"_ The girl shot out a question after question.

"_It's complicated. Cyclops don't often stand still. He can duck any time and I can be damaged. I need to see the situation then I can act according to the conditions." _

"_Don't you usually have a plan?" _Gina was surprised to hear woman's answer.

"_Sometimes our enemies can outsmart us. A good warrior always must have a strategy and at least two plans in her mind. To understand the strategy you have to know the conditions and possibilities of your enemy. I don't know them yet. I need to see what I have in my disposal."_

"_Yeah, it's like in a fight. You better know your opponent's weaknesses and work on yours, otherwise, you lose." _Gina concluded and suddenly became quiet.

Again she remembered the last fight that caused her appearing in this universe. If she only could redo it somehow in order to get to her parents, to say that she's alright but she didn't know how this could be possible to do now or in the future.

_**To be continued…**_

_**A week passed and still I don't have any variants who Gina is in reality. Any ideas? :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

**3,000 Years Ago**

**by Rondabunny**

**Part 5**

It was the third day of their travelling together.

"_Maybe I can distract the Cyclops by giving him riddles. I know many of them and if he guesses right, people of the village will pay their tribute for water but if he is wrong, he will go away and leave them alone,"_ the girl proposed her solution to the problem which even more amused the princess warrior.

"_Have you ever seen a Cyclops?"_ Xena asked with a grin because she couldn't hear such nonsense without smirking.

Yes, of course, Gina saw Cyclops in movies but this universe made her pronounce another words.

"_No, never, but I heard about them."_

"_You should know, then, that Cyclops aren't naturally very smart. So, first, he will eat you and maybe when he is digesting you, he'll think about your bargain. Furthermore, who told you that I let you approach the Cyclops. You'll be in a village together with other people while I try to settle their little problem." _The woman explained.

"_Who says?!"_

"_I say and don't even think of talking back." _Xena warned the child.

"_Or what?! I thought we had a deal. You take me with you wherever you go, you bet on your mother's health."_

"_No, no, no… As I remember I take care of you until I find you a good home to stay. I emphasize TAKE CARE not risk your life, otherwise, our deal is cancelled."_ The woman looked strictly at the girl.

"_I'll think about it." _The child said and passed quicker to go ahead the woman.

Xena just shook her head. This child was even more stubborn when she was at this age. She couldn't neglect the feeling that something was so familiar in this girl as if she was her, only smaller. Xena tried to get rid of these stupid thoughts. It's not safe for a child to travel with her. She should find her a good place to live where she'd belong.

At midday they arrived in the village that suffered from the lack of water because of Cyclops. Half of the houses were empty. People suffered from thirst. There remained several goats but most of the cattle was sold or given as a tax for Cyclops because farmers couldn't pay for water. People were emaciated. The princess warrior asked where she could find the Cyclops.

"_Gina, stay in the village. I'll try to find out what the matter is and come back," _the woman went up the road into the hill.

When Xena came at Cyclops camp she didn't like what she saw. The Cyclops lived on the top of the hill, near a big, deep trench that was blocked by some enormous rocks. The water flew into the trench but there was no way out of it because of this artificial check dam. There were no trees on the top of the hill, there was no cliff or mountain nearby. Xena couldn't do any avalanche. The task was even more difficult that she couldn't use the kite either. The weather was too hot and there was no hope for a thunderstorm even a rain was questionable at such heat. She returned to the village.

"_Can you help us?"_ was the first question Melisa, who sheltered Gina for some time asked when the princess warrior entered the house.

"_Tell me, when should you pay your next tax?" _The warrior asked.

"_Tomorrow morning," _the woman replied.

"_Do you have any horses or bullocks in the village? I have an idea. Where is Gina?"_ Xena recollected suddenly.

"_She was outside with other kids."_

"_No, I haven't seen her there." _

"_I left her outside with my son." _The woman insisted.

"_Try to find animals and some beams,"_ Xena left the house.

She searched the whole village to find any tracks of the girl until she saw small footprints in the dust on the road up the hill. The woman pursed her lips and went back up the hill.

"_Hey, put me down! It's not fair!"_ Gina hanged in midair upside down. The Cyclops was holding her by the leg trying to guess either he was so hungry that he could eat her right now or he should do the fire and fry her.

"_How I like little children. Their meat is so soft and gentle. It melts in the mouth," _roared the creature.

"_Hey, you, I thought you had a deal with villagers. They pay the tribute and you give them water and don't take their children,"_ Xena shouted for the Cyclops to hear her.

"_Who are you? You're not from the village! I give them water and they give me cattle. If they can't keep an eye on their children it's not my problem,"_ he said licking his lips.

"_Yes, that's fair, but you're so big and she's so small. You won't even understand how she tastes like, besides, look at her face. Do you see blue and purple marks on it?"_

"_Yes, I see." _The Cyclops brought the girl nearer to examine her face thoroughly.

"_If you look closely her whole body is like that. It's a horrible disease. If you eat her the effect will be as of poisonous berries. You can die."_

"_She doesn't look like dying," _the one-eyed giant disagreed.

"_This disease is tricky. The patient always feels fit of energy before dying. Tomorrow she won't even move her foot and she'll be dead in a day. If you eat her you'll be dead in three days and villagers will win. They let her come here on purpose. I want to help you. I'm your friend." _Xena wormed herself into Cyclops's confidence.

"_What I get instead?"_

"_I bring the girl into the village and tell them that you saw through their plans. I'll make sure they will bring you tomorrow twice as bigger tribute than you ordered." _

"_Fine, I'll give you the girl back. If you lied to me, I'd destroy their village tomorrow. Nobody will play tricks with mighty Arges," _yelled the monster.

"_Of course not, please, put her carefully down for me to show the villagers that you're not just the mightiest but also the brightest Cyclops they've ever seen." _

The giant put the girl down and Xena very quickly took the naughty child to the village.

"_What did I tell you to do?!"_ Xena screwed girl's ear so furiously that the kid yelped with pain.

"_Please, you tear it apart!"_ Gina begged.

"_He could have eaten you today for dinner. What were you thinking about?!" _The woman let the girl go.

"_I wanted to see a Cyclops," _Gina stepped back from the woman paying her a resentful look.

"_Next time you want to do something stupid, tell me to kill you, before you poke your nose into something dangerous! I must have left you in that town I found you in the first place!"_ the woman was really pissed off.

Gina didn't say anything. What she could say in these circumstances. In real world she knew that white is white and black is black. Giants, dragons and Cyclops were only in fairy tales or in fantasy stories. Here it was real. This disappointed her even more. She didn't understand how to behave in this world. She was sick and tired of it.

Whole day long people from the village gathered stones from the crease of the dried river. Men went for big logs and beams to a faraway forest. They had to come back only late in the night. Xena was everywhere at once. She told women to sharpen the sticks they had found in the village, teens and children gathered big stones and hid them in special strategic places. Gina also took part in this total madness. In the end of the day the girl was so tired that she didn't even argue when Xena told her to lie in the room together with children. The woman, in whose house they stopped, had 6 children. Children's room was a very unusual one, especially, for a modern person. The bed was made of boards nailed together and it was two meters long but very wide. It spread from one wall to the other. It meant that all children slept on it together. The bed was covered with two different, very old rugs. Pillows were filled with straw and each three children could use one patchwork blanket.

The whole village suffered from lack of water. So, the conditions people were living in were far from being sanitary. But Gina didn't mind. She only hoped that tomorrow when they get rid of the Cyclops she could go to the river and wash herself and her clothes if nobody disturbs her.

At dawn, when all the beams were on their places, the strongest villagers scattered to their hidden posts, Xena saddled Argo and rode to the Cyclops. She found him making a bonfire near a lake.

"_Again you are here! Where are the villagers with my tribute? I'm hungry!" _The giant grumbled.

"_I'm here to tell you that nobody comes to give you the tribute. They left the village. I told them that it is the only decision they could make in this situation. They listened to me because you made their life miserable." _Xena said dismounting her horse.

"_What?! How dare you tell me this?! I'll kill you with my own hands and then I'll go after them and kill everybody!" _The Cyclops raised his hand and hit the place where Xena was standing but she made a somersault backwards, ran to his side and buried her sword in one of his toes. Giant cried as a wounded bull. The warrior princess made a flip and landed right on the back of the horse.

"_Gee-up!"_ the woman was rushing at a full speed down the slope. Giant followed her.

On her way down Argo jumped over three piles of beams thrown about the road. The Cyclops jumped over two of them but on the third he slipped and fell down backwards hitting severely his back and his head. At this very moment a group of strong men appeared from nowhere and began throwing blazing bottles with oil at the one-eyed giant. While the creature recovered from his fall the fabric of his clothes flared up. Instead of going after the villagers he turned back to run to the lake but people on the hill were already throwing stones, so, the monster stepped on them and got down the slope again. At this time Xena and some men were throwing spears at the Cyclops. All the villagers even the kids were involved in this fight. The monster roared and whined. He flung himself from side to side and rolled on the ground to put out the fire but nothing helped. Xena interrupted his agony by throwing her chakram which slashed Cyclops neck and he has stopped breathing forever.

It took another week to get rid of the Cyclops body and return the river to its river-bed. Xena was sitting on the river bank when Gina approached.

"_May I talk to you?"_ the girl asked.

"_Oh, so bossy! I thought that you have to lay off the laundry."_ Xena stared at the girl whose face almost turned to normal with only slight dark stains from bruises.

"_I've already done it." _Gina sat near the woman.

"_What do you want to talk about?"_ She looked curiously at the girl.

Nights were still hot and stuffy but it didn't feel so much when they sat near the water.

"_I know that you want to leave me here. I heard you talking to Melisa." _The girl said strongly and strictly as if she accused the woman of something horrible.

"_And?" _Xena's mood immediately changed.

"_Are you leaving tomorrow?" _

"_Yes, I'm. Gina, it's not safe travelling with me. Here you'll be happy. A lot of kids you may play together. Melisa is a wonderful woman. Yes, this family is not rich but they gave everything to that Cyclops in several years things will sort themselves." _Xena half persuaded half apologized for the decision she was going to make.

"_You just want to disclaim the responsibility!" _The girl looked at the woman stubbornly.

"_No, I want you to have a better life,"_ she pronounced gently.

"_You want to get rid of me, that's fine. But don't even think that I stay here!" _The child stood up and went to the village leaving Xena with her thoughts.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Please, I would like to see more comments and maybe suggestions what you would like to read next. Actually, one lady or gentleman was right (Sorry, I don't know your name. GUEST doesn't reveal much. Gina is a former MMA fighter). Thank you all for reading the stories and for your comments. **_


	6. Chapter 6

**3,000 Years Ago**

**Part 6**

**by Rondabunny**

Xena returned to the house very late. Children have already been sleeping. Melisa and her husband were also preparing to go to bed.

"_Xena, there is a bucket of warm water for you and Gina. It's not so good for a girl at her age to stay awake so late in the night but I understand,"_ the hostess said.

"_What do you mean? Isn't she in bed?"_

"_No, she told me that she went to say 'goodbye' to you. I thought you wanted to keep your departure a secret but she knew it somehow. I let her go." _The woman sounded surprised and worried at the same time.

"_Yes, she came to me 4 hours ago. Then she left. You want to say she didn't come back?" _Xena looked puzzled at the woman.

Melisa nodded.

"_Wonderful!"_ Xena muttered.

An hour later when all the children were interrogated, and all places where a 10 year old could hide were thoroughly examined, adults gave up. During this hour the princess warrior discovered that some things were missing. Gina took a kitchen knife, a mug and a small pan. A fire stone, a sack for flour and all Gina's clothes were also missing. The girl also took some dinars from Xena's purse and woman's water skin. The kid had prepared to run away. But only a child could be so silly as to run away at night.

"_She ran away,"_ the woman warrior stated.

"_I'm so sorry. I must have told Atria to keep an eye on her,"_ Melisa apologized.

"_It's not your fault. It's mine. I promised her to take care of her and lied. I'll pay for everything she took away. Now it's better for everybody to sleep for awhile. I'm leaving at dawn. I'm sorry to cause you two so much trouble."_

"_Maybe we should raise the whole village. I go to the neighbors they'll help,"_ Melissa's husband proposed.

"_There is no need. It is night. I'll see the tracks better in the morning. If you wake up the whole village we won't find anything. Let's sleep. Gina is a smart girl. She'll survive."_ Xena assured the hospitable couple.

At night, though, the woman warrior didn't sleep a wink. She blamed herself for being so rude to the girl, for lying to her. Now the child was there alone in the darkness. Nobody knew what might happen to Gina at this hour. At a daybreak when grey colors were turning into bright multi-colored world Xena made her farewells and set off to find the naughty kid. Xena spend half a day following the tracks the child left in the dust. Suddenly she lost them. The scenery changed harshly. If the village was situated in a valley at the bottom of the hill, here the woman saw a fork in the road. One path led to the shady grove another ran along a meadow with dried up grass. Xena dismounted the horse and went into the grove. She was walking all day long following Gina's tracks. She found the place where the girl had slept and where she had had a rest but it seemed that the woman gave this girl a head start. When the sun touched the horizon Xena decided to halt for a night.

Next morning Gina woke up startled to find out that a strange stinky man was trying to drag her sack with all her belongings from under her head.

"_Hey, what are you doing?"_ the girl grabbed hold of the sack but she wasn't as strong as a tall, robber-looking adult man. It was easy for him to snatch the sack out.

"_What does it look like?"_ The man bared his dirty teeth.

He poked about the sack and fished out five dinars and some bread. Other things didn't impress him much.

"_Give them back!"_ Gina cried indignantly.

"_Or what? I haven't seen any parents. When you run away take more money with you, kiddo," _he grinned.

The man dropped the sack on the ground, put dinars in the pocket and sank his teeth into Gina's last bread.

"_Take your stuff and thank me for not killing you, small fry," _He mumbled with a full mouth.

Gina looked at this dirty, stinking, overgrown, insolent man and everything inside her turned over. She was a child. This option had advantages and disadvantages. In the real world she would without saying punch him in the face and beat him so hard that he would not only loose his teeth but beg her not to kill him. This wasn't a good idea for a child. He was about six feet tall and muscles showing from the holes on his shirt told her that the man was not a coward too. The girl picked up the sack and turned her back to the man. Then she put it back and hid her hand behind her back turning to the man.

"_Please, give me back my money. I need them. I'm all alone here. My parents died. I don't have anything to eat. Do you want me to starve?"_ She put all her sorrow in the voice begging this man to take pity.

"_It's your problem not mine." _He swallowed the last piece of bread.

While the girl was talking she approached the man staring at him with her brown innocent and so sad eyes.

"_Go away while I'm still kind and peaceful." _The man warned her.

The kid didn't say anything. She attacked as a predator putting all her power in the kick to his crotch. The robber yelped, covered the place of attack with both hands and kneeled on the ground. Not thinking a second Gina put a knife to man's throat.

"_My money, now!"_ She shouted.

"_Why? Would you kill me? You're just a child."_ The man was muddled by the situation.

"_Money or I cut your throat without any regret,"_ She pierced him sternly with her dark eyes.

He made a gesture to push the hand in his pocket. Instead, he suddenly grabbed girl's arm and knocked out the knife from her hand. Child's reaction was immediate. She shoved him in the nose with a fist and kicked his chest with a knee unscrewing her arm from his grasp. The instinct told her to run and Gina ran. The robber ran after her cursing and threatening to kill her. She ran for dear life until stumbling over a tree root and falling down. He was behind. She knew that. The girl wanted to stand up but somebody pulled her dress from behind. She jerked to break free but not this time. He pressed her to the ground and started choking the kid.

All of a sudden Gina heard an odd sound. The man's body became soft and he crashed down on her. She shrieked from fear. The man was very heavy, blood dropped on her face, but the most scary thing was, that half of his head was sliced away. He died immediately. In several seconds Gina heard somebody rushing to her.

"_That's alright, that's alright. Here, come to me. Everything is over,"_ Xena dragged away the dead man's body from the shrieking child.

The woman pulled the girl closely to her body and began swinging her to hush the overwhelmed, shaking child.

"_He wanted to take my money,"_ the girl sobbed into Xena's bosom.

"_You're safe. You're safe now. I'm sorry, luv. I'm so sorry." _Xena lulled the child frightened to death.

After some time when Gina came to her senses and was able to stand up on her still shaky legs, the warrior princess told her to go forward and collect the things she left. A dead man with half of his brains on the ground wasn't the best scene for a child to look at. Xena approached the body. Turned it on its back, thrust her hand into his pocket and took out five dinars. He wouldn't use them anyway.

After that Xena took Argo and approached Gina. The girl was standing staring at the backpack of the dead man as if it was something horrible in front of her on the ground. When the princess warrior called her name the child shuddered.

"_Let's see what he has here." _

Xena took the backpack which definitely had better days and shook it out on the ground. There were three purses. Two of them empty and one full with dinars, a rusty bread knife, two necklaces, a water skin with good wine, a fire stone and a pair of good leather gloves. The man was a thief defining by his look and clothes not very talented still he got his catch. Especially, if the warrior princess took into consideration children and maybe old people he abused to get the prize. The woman took a purse with dinars, necklaces, gloves and water skin.

Gina looked at Xena's methodical work still in a shock. Tears again came to her eyes.

"_I just wanted to protect the money. I didn't want him to die,"_ she whispered.

The girl was still covered in man's blood from her face down to the neck and chest.

"_Nobody accuses you of killing him. He was a bastard and he died like one. Nevertheless, if you listened to me and remained in the village this poor guy would have been alive." _Xena was really angry with the girl.

"_I didn't want it. I didn't…" _Gina burst into tears.

"_Come on, your tears won't help him anyway. Next time if I say something, you will obey,"_ said the woman and started to wipe the blood from child's face and body with a damp cloth. To let the girl wash herself and waste water in such heat would be insane.

When Xena collected all Gina's belongings and trophy her shakram gained in the battle against heavy odds and both the child and the woman went further.

The hour of silence was disturbed by the princess warrior.

"_Why did you run away? There you had a family, people who cared for you."_

"_I didn't belong there," _the girl uttered simply.

"_Oh, you didn't belong there! Tell me, where you belong then?"_

"_I don't know. It wasn't there."_

"_So, where is it?"_ asked Xena.

Gina wanted to tell the truth that it was not in this world and not in this time and not at this place on Earth but the only thing she could do was sneezing. The child sneezed each time she opened the mouth to pronounce the fateful words.

"_Are you alright?" _

"_Yes, I'm fine. Maybe allergic to something," _Gina lied, _"Why did you go after me?"_

"_Why? A great, silly childish question! You remained without food and money in the middle of nowhere. That guy nearly killed you and you're asking me why?" _For Xena the situation became more and more crazy.

"_What have changed? It was fine to leave me in the village but now you're playing an offended hero. You may go if you want. I didn't ask you to follow me!" _

"_According to your impressive ability to get into trouble, to my mind, you would have been dead 100 times until this very moment. Now, you'll obey everything I say or believe me, I'll spank you," _Xena hissed.

How could this girl talk to her, the warrior princess, in such a tone of voice. This child definitely needed some admonition. The girl was brave. Xena couldn't deny it. To go alone in the night, it was a courageous step, but to try and fight that 6 feet bastard was absolutely foolish and dangerous.

"_It means we are travelling together, don't we?"_ Gina screwed her eyes foxily.

"_No, we're heading to Amphipolis to my mother."_

"_Of course, you want to get rid of me and relieve a burden to your mother. Very wise and very like you, the Warrior Princess." _

"_What?" _Xena raised an eyebrow at such a verbal attack.

"_You were always irresponsible. Tell me, please, when was the last time you saw your mother? Did she bless you when you said goodbye?" _

Xena was taken aback. She stood there with an open mouth. How could the child know this?

_**To be continued…**_

_**Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! In my country we don't celebrate Christmas on the 25**__**th**__** of December. That's why the next chapter will be only next year. Thank you for reading my humble story.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**3,000 Years Ago**

**Part 7**

**by Rondabunny**

"_No, she cursed me for the death of her youngest son Lyceus and next time for taken away provisions for my army,"_ the woman confessed.

"_Now you want to come back home and give her a child to care?! That's a very smart step, I would say."_ Gina countered.

"_Nevertheless, I go home. Amphipolis is not over that mountain. We're on the Roman territory and it would take us month or so to get there. Maybe during that time I'll figure out what to do to you." _

It was a strange bargain but for now it was OK for Gina. She didn't have any plan either. The only thing the girl knew that maybe her meeting Xena wasn't just a coincidence. It could be a key to getting back to the future and reality.

"_Do you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten since yesterday evening,"_ the girl pleaded. After all the trouble she has been this morning, she felt very hungry.

Xena sighed, took a piece of cheese, a slice of meat and some bread from her bag and gave it to the hungry child. Gina immediately nibbled in bread and cheese.

"_Can you teach me how to fight with a stick?"_ came an unexpected question after breakfast was finished in maximum 7 minutes.

"_I thought only a week ago you were all covered in bruises. I left you for one day and somebody tried to smother you. Again I see bright track of bruises on your neck. Do you want more?"_ Xena was more and more amused by this little creature.

"_Yes, that's right, but if I knew how to fight with a stick, that guy would still have been alive and you shouldn't have helped me at all,"_ the girl made a conclusion.

"_Of course, you would have been lying under the tree soaked in blood with a stick in your chest,"_ the princess warrior ended the little girl's bravado.

"_You're so mean! I lost to that guy only because I'm a child and I don't have as much power as I had before. Still I made him drop to his knees and put a knife to his neck. I didn't have guts to cut his throat, though. My style of fighting is useless against adults."_ she explained.

Xena's eyebrows got high on her forehead at such a confession.

"_Yeah, tell me, how did you make him drop to his knees?" _

Gina explained in colors how she got a kitchen knife from the sack, hid it behind her back, kicked the poor guy in his crotch and badgered the man.

"_That was smart. Remind me next time not to give you any knives. Don't want to get hurt,"_ Xena mocked at the child.

"_You don't believe me, do you?" _

"_Why? I do. You're a very bright child. The word I should highlight here is 'a child'. A knife is not a toy for children." _Xena reprimanded.

"_How should I defend myself then?" _

"_If you can run, run. If you can't run…" _Suddenly Xena was interrupted by a very bored childish voice.

"_Yeah, yeah. I know. Rule number two: if you can't run, surrender, then, run. Rule number three: if you outnumbered, make them fight each other while you run. Number four: if you can't do any of these, talk your way out of it."_ The girl finished her lesson.

Xena just huffed.

"_Who taught this to you?"_

Gina couldn't say that it was from the series of the princess warrior she saw in reality. She had already learned the lesson that this world didn't give her any possibility to say the truth. So, the girl opened her mouth to pronounce the words and begin coughing or sneezing, whatever. Instead, her mouth uttered something very believable.

"_My mother, she didn't like when I was fighting with other kids. I wasn't very talkative either." _Gina shrugged her shoulders.

Xena smiled looking at this small and very brave girl.

"_Fine, at the next stop you'll show me how you fight." _The woman patted child's shoulder.

Only in the evening when the heat of the sun wasn't so burning Gina had a chance to show Xena her abilities.

"_So, what did you want to show me?" _Xena asked nonchalantly as if the whole day they were having a rest but not walking through the not ending grove.

"_Do you have some kind of bandage. I need to bandage my knuckles. I'm good at close combat. There is no use to damage my hands just to show you some moves,"_ Gina said professionally.

"_Oh, so serious. Let's find out what I have in here."_ Xena fished out two bands of material and gave it to the girl, who started to bandage her hands very skillfully.

"_Now look, if this tree was my opponent. I would do this."_ Gina came close to the tree and showed the woman warrior her best shots and kicks. She used her fists, elbows, legs and knees to break down her imaginary opponent. The girl even succeeded in scratching some bark off the tree.

"_Impressive,"_ was the only word the woman uttered.

"_Now it's useless,"_ said child in frustration.

"_It's not, if you know where to hit." _Xena encouraged.

"_Believe me, I know." _

"_Fine, let's do it together. Come here. Show everything you did again but now I'll be your opponent. A tree can't give much of a fight." _

The child attacked Xena very unsure at first, but with every hit the girl became more and more focused. She didn't miss any vital spot on woman's body: solar plexus, spleen, liver, kidneys, breasts, Achilles tendon, shin. She methodically attacked all these vital spots and Xena blocked all girl's attacks.

"_Very good. I'm definitely impressed." _

"_What's so good. I haven't even touched you."_ The child was extremely disappointed.

"_If I let you do that I would be right now on the ground begging for mercy."_ The woman assured her.

"_What's the point, if you can do it. All adults can hurt me. I can't defend myself."_

"_Yes, you're partially right." _

"_Why partially?"_

"_Adults are higher and stronger, though, you have a great trump card in your pocket. Nobody expects from a child to be so skillful in Marshal arts. Besides, you try to bring me down with your power, we have to change that. Try to be smart. If you use your head instead of your muscles you can win." _Explained the princess warrior.

"_How? You don't want to show me how to defend myself with a stick. Can you at least teach me how to do somersaults and all those amazing jumps you can do?"_

"_It needs a lot of training."_

"_You told the way to Amphipolis is not that short. I want to learn. Would you teach me," _The girl pleaded. _"I can already do some things. I'll show you!"_

The girl ran up and turned three somersaults and after that did two forward flips. Xena pursed her lips and nodded in approval.

"_You know a lot for a little girl. Can you do a back flip?"_

"_I'm not sure about it."_

"_Come here. If you fall I'll catch you."_

Xena stood by while Gina was making a back flip. It was a little bit awkward and shaky but the girl did it well.

"_Fine, that will do for today. I don't want you to train today. We don't have much water. The weather is still very hot. Tomorrow when we come to a stream you'll train more."_

"_Promise?" _asked the child.

"_I promise."_

At night when the child was asleep Xena was wide awake. She stared at Gina deep in thought. How could such a young girl know all these Marshal arts' moves? The girl used different styles as well as Xena. Even the princess warrior didn't see some techniques before that this child used. What did this girl go through to know these things? The woman would teach her jumps and flips and summersaults but she would never give the child any weapon. She didn't want her to become a beast like she was not long ago. Xena looked at Gina who was twitching in her sleep. The night was less hot than the day. Heavy, stuffy air filled their lungs and hair stuck to the forehead because of sweat. Suddenly Gina jerked and sat up in terror. The girl couldn't catch up her breath for a while and didn't understand where she was.

"_What's wrong?"_ The woman approached the child and sat near her.

An owl hooted above and the kid trembled of its unexpected cry.

"_Hey, that's just an owl. There's nothing to be scared of." _Xena put her arm around girl's shoulders.

"_It's just a nightmare,"_ the girl responded in a small voice.

"_About what?" _

"_That man you killed in the morning. He ran after me, wanted to throttle me." _She said in horror touching her throat as if that man was somewhere near and Gina tried to protect herself.

"_It's just a nightmare. He wouldn't hurt you anymore ever,"_ said Xena kissing the child on the top of her head.

"_Can I have some water? I won't drink much." _

"_Sure, drink as much as you wish. We still have a skin of wine."_

"_Wine, in this heat? Yuk!" _the girl grimaced.

"_You'll drink water. You're too small for wine." _Xena teased. _"Now, go back to sleep."_

In the morning Gina woke up to Xena's cursing about the cheese that got out of order because of the warm weather.

"_Don't worry, Xena. Fried eggs with bacon will be just fine for me,"_ the child told with a happy smile on her face.

"_You'll do with dried crust that I have,"_ the woman said grumpily.

"_Don't we have anything else?"_ Gina asked looking in the empty sack with their food.

"_Sorry, bread is covered in mold and fruit you ate yesterday."_ Xena half apologized half stated the fact.

"_Fine, who needs to eat in such a heat anyway?"_ The girl showed that she wasn't hungry but deep inside she wanted to eat an elephant because yesterday she ate only some fruit.

The whole day long the princess warrior drank only wine from the water skin she confiscated from that dead thief and Gina was really amazed that in this heat the woman wasn't drunk at all. At midday they found a small spring that came right from the underground. The water was very cold still child drank it with pleasure.

In the afternoon the woman and the girl came to a small town. They stopped in a tavern. After a good bath, washing of clothes and some rest, in the evening Xena was outside drinking something, watching Gina jumping rope with some local kids. The girl wasn't eager to play with children but Xena insisted on her going and socializing.

"_You have an adorable daughter out there,"_ said the woman waitress coming with a portion of mutton stew.

"_She's not my daughter,"_ Xena answered taking a fork to eat the stew.

"_Then you have an admirable similarity. Maybe except your eyes. Though, if she isn't your daughter it's even better. Here, look. I think it will be a good investment for you and obviously for her." _

The woman left an advertising leaflet on the table.

It ran:

To whom it may concern,

King Vitus searches for a girl of 9-10 years old to be a companion to his little child, Princess Inanna. The candidate must have good manners and show some talents. The girl would live in the palace together with the princess. Her parents will receive a decent refund for their child.

"_Marvelous,"_ said Xena sipping some strong drink from her cup. She reread the leaflet again. It was a great opportunity to find a good place for the girl and even to get money for her troubles. It was worth thinking about.

The princess warrior was sitting at the table. Her stomach was full and she was half drunk. The woman shot a last glance at the merry girl and went to the room. She needed to think over this possibility and maybe to have a short nap.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Happy New Year, Ladies and Gentlemen! As I promised, you'll read another chapter this year. If you're still curious, Gina is in the photo of my avatar to this story. Enjoy life in the New Year!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**3,000 Years Ago**

**Part 8**

**by Rondabunny**

Gina played outside until twilight. She didn't notice how kids went away one by one called by their parents. She roamed with them the streets of this town remembering her childhood days in real life, when she wrestled with her sisters. The girl was a tomboy in reality and she was a great match to children of this era. When the child was approaching the tavern where they stayed with Xena, two men blocked her way.

"_Grab her!"_ was the cold-blooded whisper of the man.

Another one jumped at her. She didn't have time to understand what was going on. The girl tried to cry out but the man pressed his hand to her mouth and the cry became an unreadable gibber. She kicked and scratched trying to make this monster lose his grip. Everything was in vain. The talkative one hit her neck from behind. Gina lost her consciousness.

Next morning Xena woke up with an unbearable hangover. She fully regretted the wine she had been drinking whole day long and that mash they used to call strong drink that she drank in the evening. Throbbing pain in her head and awful thirst were definite signs of a horrible hangover. Even the light from the window caused the woman to close her eyes. Very slowly she sat up in the bed.

"_Gina, could you, please, give me a mug of water?"_ She said blinking to adjust eyes to the bright light streaming into the room.

The only answer was silence. Xena finally noticed that there was nobody in the room except her humble self. Gina's bed, where she supposed to be asleep, was neatly made and the girl was gone. The princess warrior grumbled but stood up and gulped half of the jug of water, that was standing on the window-sill. She washed her face and hands marking that Gina didn't use the washbowl it meant that the child didn't wash her face. Xena put a tick in her mind to reprimand the girl for not being accurate and neglecting self-hygiene. After she got dressed Xena went down to the tavern hall where guests could find some food and company.

The woman quickly scanned the room to find out that Gina wasn't here. She went outside searched in the yard and the stable, asked some local men if they saw a girl with dark hair that covered her cheek bones and dark brown eyes but nobody's seen her.

Xena returned to the tavern.

"_Have you seen the girl I was with yesterday evening?"_ She asked the tavern keeper who was the man.

"_I don't know what girl you're talking about. I'm very busy and I don't remember all my clients. They come and go every day," _responded the man filling in a goblet of wine for a client.

The woman, who gave her the leaflet yesterday, also didn't know where the girl was. She shrugged her shoulders and went away to serve a table. Xena was surprised because yesterday she didn't notice that the tavern was overcrowded. In the morning a great number of people were sitting at the tables, drinking and eating their breakfast.

"_Please, tell me what is going on here?"_ Xena asked a maiden passing by.

"_Everybody is eager to be in Ancona at the 10__th__ birthday of Princess Inanna. Her parents want to buy a gift for their daughter, a child on whom the Princess can exercise her ability to give orders. Besides, they are looking for a thespian, who will entertain their daughter at the birthday party,"_ she explained and hurried away.

"_The things become more and more interesting,"_ Xena muttered.

Instead of heading east, the princess warrior found all the children Gina had been playing with yesterday and interrogated each of them until one of them told her that he saw two terribly looking guys in the dark corner of the street when Gina went to the tavern that evening. Xena thanked the children, paid for the room and took Argo to the east.

Gina opened her eyes at dawn. Headache and numb limbs told her that she was unconscious for a long time. This wasn't a good sign. The guy hit her hard in the head. She could have a concussion. The girl was sitting on a mare ridden by a strong middle aged man. According to the smell he travelled a lot without washing much and his reeking breath told about bad rotten teeth in his mouth. He had a sword on the side of the mare. His muscles were made of steel. The girl understood that these two fellows weren't the ones who she could play with. Another one was a tall bearded man. He was shirtless, so, the child clearly saw deep scars on his back and his right side. His muscles glittered in the sun covered in sweat.

"_Aha, our prey finally woke up,"_ said the one that was riding together with the child on his horse.

"_That's great. At least we didn't kidnap her in vain. That would be a waste of time and our future money."_ The other replied.

"_Balius, you're underestimating me. I know how much power to use to knock out a kid,"_ the man smirked.

"_I told you. It would have been better if we just bound her without knocking her out."_ Balius grumbled. _"How are you, kid?"_

"_My head is aching and spinning and I need to pee but on the whole I'm alright, I suppose," _Gina pronounced trying to shake off the slumber.

"_Fine, let's have a break. There is a well there. We have to water the mares and fill our water skins." _Balius commanded.

It was very uncomfortable to ease nature even when the man was standing with his back to her. Unfortunately, Gina had to overcome this awkward situation. After she drank some water, Janus, the middle-aged man with fair hair and shiny grey eyes gave her a piece of bread and some naturally dried fish. It wasn't the breakfast she wanted to eat at this part of the day but it was better than nothing.

"_Why did you kidnap me?" _Gina asked taking a bite of bread and postponing the fish. After fresh water dried fish wasn't a very good idea at all.

"_You're a strange kid. Instead of crying for mommy you're asking questions,"_ told Baluis.

"_It's of no use to cry for mommy right now when I'm in the middle of nowhere with two warriors."_

"_A wise observation, child," _admitted the man.

"_What's your name?"_ asked Janus.

"_I'm Gina, so, you spoke about money. Who are you going to sell me?"_ She continued the conversation stubbornly not eating the fish.

"_Don't worry. If it turns out well, you'll thank us for changing your life for good,"_ Balius assured her.

"_If that is such a good bargain why don't you tell me where are we heading?"_

"_To Ancona, to celebrate birthday of Princess Inanna and to bring you to her as a gift."_ Janus grinned with all his rotten teeth.

"_Marvelous,"_ Gina muttered. _"How much does she pay?"_

"_The leaflet says a generous price." _Balius showed her the leaflet and was really surprised when the girl started to read it.

"_Oh, you can read."_

"_Yes, why?" _Gina didn't understand his surprise.

"_Not many children can read at this age. Janus can't read at all," _said Balius. _"Who taught you?"_

"_My parents, they died." _The girl confessed.

"_Oh, you're an orphan. Then think of this little adventure as of a great chance in your life." _

"_Yeah, of course." _She agreed.

"_In these two weeks I've been travelling with Xena I've had more adventures than I had had for 32 years in a row,"_ Gina thought to herself.

Would the princess warrior be searching for her? It was the main question. How would she know where the girl was if she didn't have any hints. Gina thought about it too. The plan was obvious. She would travel with these guys to the palace. They would sell her to the royal family and then she could escape and go to Amphipolis to find Xena. It was the best plan the girl could think of. To fight two warriors was a suicidal mission, especially for a child. But if Xena was following her tracks she should do something to assure the woman she was going the right way. That's why Gina gathered small stones from the ground near the well while she was eating her breakfast. When the two men were ready to leave she asked them if she can drink some more water from the well. The girl made sure she was doing it alone and there, while she was pretending to drink water, she made a small "X" sign of stones she gathered. Maybe the woman would understand it.

"_Smart move, Gina. I'm on my way,"_ Xena thought when she stopped to water Argo near the well. She saw the sign left by Gina even if the stones were the same color as the rim of the well itself but the woman saw in clearly.

The next day Xena found a lace from Gina's boot tied up to a branch of a bush. They were for sure heading to Ancona.

On the third day in some coaching inn Balius and Janus were in the middle of a discussion while Gina was looking out of the window.

"_We can't present you to the royal family in such a dress_!" said Balius looking at Gina and then back at Janus.

"_Why not? It's a little bit dirty and with trashes on sides but it was very convenient for horse-riding,"_ Janus disagreed.

"_Maybe for horse-riding but not for the contest at the palace! Look at her boots! She lost a lace from the right boot. The boots are all in dust!" _

"_Al right, I'll go find her an appropriate dress and a lace for the boot. You wash her and clean those boots,"_ Janus took charge of the situation.

"_Me, washing a kid? No way! Do I look like a nanny?"_ Balius made the ugliest, angriest face he could do.

"_No, you don't but I'm already gone,"_ told Janus and ran out of the room.

Balius folded his arms and stared frowningly at Gina.

"_Don't even think of washing me. I'll raise such noise souls in Hades will ask for more torture."_ The girl looked harshly at the poor guy.

"_What do you propose?"_ He asked.

"_If you bring me a bucket of hot and a bucket of cold water I'll wash myself while you'll be standing out the room guarding the door,"_ the child suggested.

"_That's a deal!"_ The man ran away to fetch warm water.

In two hours when Gina was squeaky clean Janus came with the ugliest dress she has ever seen in her life. It was pink trimmed with artificial flowers and bows with a puffy skirt and too much organza. The girl sighed but put on this miscarriage of fashion.

Balius combed her hair which he decorated with a band. Her boots were laces. They didn't match the dress but it wasn't important for the two very satisfied outlaws who were looking at the girl as if she was a precious stone they could sell for a good price.

"_She's beautiful but in the leaflet they say she must have a kind of a talent,"_ the shorter guy spoke.

"_She can read,"_ Balius gave him one reason.

"_I'm sure the princess can do it too. Gina, what else can you do?" _Janus insisted.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't tell about her fighting skills. It would raise suspicion.

"_Can you sing?" _Janus continued.

"_No, I can't."_

"_Can you dance?"_

"_Maybe a little," _she told themvery uncertainly.

"_Show us."_

The child started to shake her hips pretending that she was at a wild night club full of hot, young teens searching for their mate for the night. The two men were staring at her with open mouths.

"_Stop, please, stop!"_ Balius uttered still in a shock.

"_What?"_ Gina asked not understanding what has just happened.

"_Who taught you to dance like that? Even harlots in brothels don't dance so frivolously."_ Janus stated.

"_Oh, I'm sorry. In my homeland everybody dances this way." _Gina apologized.

"_No, you can't dance this way in the princess presence. It's inappropriate."_ Balius shook his head in disagreement.

"_I can tell stories. I know a lot of them."_

"_Yeah? I want to hear one," _said Janus sitting down comfortably in one of the chairs.

"_This is the story of a Red Riding Hood." _The girl began retelling an old fairy tale.

This very evening the two merry guys came back to their inn to celebrate a good bargain. The girl was sold to the royal couple for a purse of gold coins. The princess herself chose Gina to be her main present for the birthday.

In the afternoon of the fourth day after a myriad of dramatic actors, puppeteers, bards, jugglers, etc., an extremely bored fair haired girl, with grey, almond eyes, plump up nose and pretty face sat on a small throne saying:

"_Next…"_

"_There are only three people left, Your Highness,"_ said a man nearby. He definitely was a master of ceremonies.

"_I'm not impressed. This is my birthday and I want to amaze my guests but not to make them sleep."_ The princess barked at the man.

"_Sure, Your Highness."_ The man nodded.

In a second a woman appeared before the princess wearing short silk dress with a skirt made of fringe. The top was spangled in a very accurate way not too shiny and not too dull. Her hair was done up in a ponytail. She had three phials in her hands red, blue and yellow. First, she juggled with phials. While she was juggling the woman opened the red one, caught it with her mouth, made a summersault to the nearest torch and effectively spit a long stream of fire. Then, she took one of the daggers that were plugged at her back between the dress and the belt and while juggling, as if by accident she smashed one of the phials and yellow powder dissipated in the air. The thespian danced in this strange yellow cloud and suddenly her body and her dress became golden as of a precious statue. Finally, she came to a pitcher with water that was standing in the middle of the room and poured out the contests of the last phial which caused a small but very impressive firework. The woman curtseyed and finished her performance.

"_Fantastic! I'll take her! You will be performing tomorrow at my birthday party."_ The princess jumped from her throne.

"_It's a great honor, Your Highness." _She bowed once again.

"_Come on, let me show you my room and the one that you'll stay in."_ Princess Inanna in a very unprincess way dragged the thespian down the corridor.

"_Here, this is my room,"_ Inanna and the woman came into a spacious room with a big bed in the middle and racks with different toys. It seemed as if they came in a toy shop.

"_Have you cleaned the dust from my toys?"_ The girl addressed to Gina who was wearing a dress that all slaves did in the palace.

"_Yes, Your Highness, everything is clean." _Gina said looking at the stranger.

"_Fine, this is the main entertainer of tomorrow's event. She is beautiful, isn't she?"_ The girl asked Gina.

"_Yes, Your Highness."_ The slave mumbled.

"_What's your name, woman?"_ The princess asked in a commanding way.

"_Philomena from Messana,"_ the woman answered.

Though, Gina saw quite well who was before her and the girl was really thankful for that.

"_Sing something, while I'm showing Philomena my collection of toys. By the way, this is Gina, my new doll,"_ she presented the girl to Xena.

"_I'm sorry, but I can't…"_ Gina hadn't time to finish the phrase as a clear slap resounded the room.

"_I didn't ask you, I order!"_ the Princess shouted in rage.

Gina wanted to say something but Xena intervened in this unpleasant conversation.

"_I'm sure, she can sing. I see a lot of toys here. Can you tell me where are they from?"_ Xena shot a stern look at the girl and Gina began singing.

"_Here you sit in your high-backed chair  
>Wonder how the view is from there<br>I wouldn't know 'cause I like to sit  
>Upon the floor, yeah upon the floor<br>If you like we could play a game  
>Let's pretend that we are the same<br>But you will have to look much closer  
>Than you do, closer than you do<em>

_And I'm far too tired to stay here anymore  
>And I don't care what you think anyway<br>'Cause I think you were wrong about me  
>Yeah, what if you were, what if you were?<em>

_And what if I'm a snowstorm burning?  
>What if I'm a world unturning?<br>What if I'm an ocean, far too shallow, much too deep?  
>What if I'm the kindest demon,<br>Something you may not believe in?  
>What if I'm a siren singing gentlemen to sleep?<em>_.._"

Xena didn't listen to Inanna's detailed discussion about toys, but the lyrics in Gina's song struck her heart. She hasn't heard that song before. It was long, beautiful and sad in its own way. By Gina's flushing cheeks the princess warrior could say that it wasn't the first slap from the little blonde monster. After a thorough excursion into the depth of Inanna's enormous toy collection Gina escorted Philomena to her room.

"_How are you?"_ Xena embraced the child the very moment they remained alone in the room.

"_I should control myself not to smack her hard in the face,"_ Gina pronounced through clenched teeth.

"_I see."_

"_Will you rescue me outta here?"_ Gina casted the woman her most striking puppy look.

"_Yes, I will."_

"_This night?" _the girl asked with hope in her voice.

"_No, it's impossible. Too many guards. We'll wait for tomorrow. It will be a ball and people get drunk during such events." _

"_That's bad." _The child uttered sadly.

"_Why?"_

"_Have you seen the chest in her room?"_

"_Yes, why?"_

"_It's my bed. She thinks if I'm her doll I have to sleep with her toys." _The girl explained.

"_But it is too small for you."_

"_Yeah, it's not long enough for me but it's deep enough at least to curl up there."_

"_I'm sorry, Ginny. Only one night, I promise. Tomorrow in the evening we'll be far away from this place." _Xena hugged the child one more time.

In the morning the princess warrior heard a strange sound of hurried footsteps down the corridor. She also headed that way and from the corridor she could hear princess Inanna's weeping. Xena peeped into the room because the entrance was crowded by guards. The queen was fussing over her ldaughter's bloody nose. Gina was standing between two guards who were holding both of her arms. The girl looked angry and confused at the same time.

"_She broke her nose! It's Inanna's birthday and this filthy spawn broke the little nose of my little jewel!" _The queen, who had an impressive weight of a multi-ton ship, fluttered back and forth wringing her hands in despair.

"_Give her ten whips and lock her in the cell of the dungeon. I'll talk to this bastard later!" _barked the king.

When guards dragged Gina and were passing Xena by, the woman warrior hit one with an elbow in his ribs and grabbed his sword. In a second the other one was lying on the floor kicked by the woman.

"_Gina, run to my room!" _

The girl ran with all her might while the princess warrior were fighting other guards. When one last man was standing she ran after the girl into the room blocking the door quickly with a stool.

Xena's room was quite small. It had one window, a bed, a very small table and a stool.

"_What now?"_ The girl asked nervously because guards thrust their weight on the door trying to open it.

"_Climb on the window and outside!"_ Xena shouted taking her belongings in a hurry.

"_Are you crazy? We're on the third floor!"_

"_The walls are covered with a grapevine. Gina, quickly!" _

The warrior helped the child to climb on the window-sill and then outside. When the guards entered the room Xena let out her battle cry and jumped into the window as a swallow. She made a forward roll in the midair and caught hold of the vine. The girl was getting down rapidly with adrenaline rushing through her veins. Suddenly, the vine she was holding tore and the child fell down on the bulkhead and then tumbled down on the ground hurting badly her ribs on the left side. She hit herself so harsh that she landed on the back and couldn't stand up. Xena quickly made some forward rolls in the air and landed on her two feet beside the child. She fought the guards who rapidly arrived to the scene while Gina regained her strength to stand up. After the girl was on her feet Xena whistled. The mare came in a minute. Fast, the woman took the child on Argo's back and they galloped far away from this palace and its crazy inhabitants.

After 30 minutes of mad riding Gina begged Xena to stop. Every movement on the horse made her ribs cry in pain. The woman stopped only when they were in the outskirts of the city.

"_Let me see!"_ She said sternly looking at the child's pale face and tears in the eyes. Xena palpated girl's ribs and her left side.

"_No, your ribs are fine. It's just a bad injury. You'll live. What the blaze, did you smack her in the nose like that? We could have left quietly today in the evening!" _The princess warrior jumped on the poor child.

"_I didn't want to hit her. She closed me in that chest in the morning. She sat on the lid and told me that she would seal it up. I freaked out. It's too small and there wasn't much air in it. I tried to push away the lid. I think Inanna let it go but wasn't fast enough to get away from the lid hitting her in the face. I nearly suffocated in that chest!" _Gina let her tears flow. She was scared and hurt and very anxious.

Xena didn't say anything. She hugged the child and let her cry her fear out.

_**To be continued…**_

_**This turned out to be a little bit longer chapter than I expected. I hope you'll enjoy it, because I won't be able to write for some time.**_


	9. Chapter 9

**3,000 Years Ago**

**Part 9**

**by Rondabunny**

"_I told you not to drink so fast that cold water,"_ Xena read a lecture to the poor child, who was miserable anyway.

"_I'm sick and tired of this heat,"_ Gina whimpered.

"_Now you have a sore throat," _stated the princess warrior.

"_No, don't. If we had some honey or hot milk with butter, I would be fine by now,"_ the girl thought of any natural things that could be used in this situation. She couldn't dream about Coricidin, Night-Time Cold Flu Relief or throat lozenge, because even sugar was a luxury these days.

"_I haven't seen any beehive on our way. There's no cow nearby and I ran out of coins. So, next time just listen to what I say to you!" _

"_Yeah, whatever,"_ told Gina in a hoarse voice and blocked Xena's hand that woman stretched to see the child's throat.

"_Let me see how bad it is!" _said the princess warrior indignantly.

"_You can't do anything about it. Why to fuss at all?" _Gina brushed away.

Xena shook her head. This was the most unbearable child on earth.

"_Fine, gather some wood. I go find some game. Don't go anywhere!"_ The woman ordered and disappeared in the woods.

When she came back the child has already been fast asleep. Xena didn't want to disturb Gina's peaceful, deep dream. In several hours it was still dark but the woman shook the girl's shoulder making her wake up too.

"_Gina, wake up. It's going to rain soon. We need to go,"_ said the princess warrior packing their things in a hurry.

"_At last! I thought, it will never rain,"_ pronounced the child half asleep. Her throat was sore and dry. That's why she began coughing.

"_Here, drink this and let's move!" _The woman gave her a water-skin.

The lightning was already glistening in the distance followed by faraway roar of thunder.

"_Where did all these clouds come from? Yesterday there wasn't even a small spot in the sky."_

"_Maybe somebody angered Zeus and now he's throwing lightning on the head of the poor man," _stated Xena.

"_It's nonsense! Besides, we're in the Roman Empire. They don't have Zeus here,"_ disagreed the child.

"_If they call him Jupiter, it doesn't mean we have two different gods. Gods are the same. We only call them in different ways,"_ explained the woman.

"_Do you really believe that the weather is made by gods?"_ Gina looked at the warrior skeptically.

"_I believe that we get soaked to the skin unless we get out of here in some dry and comfortable place preferably with a roof,"_ concluded Xena. She helped the girl to get on the mare and they rode to the nearest town.

The rain was pouring down like a waterfall when they reached Scrima a town in the south-west from Ancona. In spite of the fact that Xena tried to escape the thunderstorm, it didn't help even a little. They were drenched to the bones. The woman had only a short cloak for such kind of weather. She wrapped Gina in it but it didn't work anyway. The girl was also soaked to her skin. The coughing became stronger, she was burning up inside. The child shook all over with fever. The princess warrior didn't have any money. She spent everything on special effects three days ago when she came to Princess Inanna's birthday to rescue the little creature, who was now trembling on the horse in front of her. Still, the woman with typical stubbornness entered every inn or tavern they were passing by in search for something.

There he was sitting at the table cheating at cards with some guys. While she was patiently waiting for him to finish the game, she let a guy to buy her a drink. When he became too annoying she put the kibosh on the poor man. He hit his face on the table but the place was so crowded because of the rain that nobody paid attention to this small incident. Xena searcher his pockets and found two dinars which weren't a lot but at least she could buy the child something to eat. The woman ordered a big mug of hot milk and a goat stew. Gina refused the food but drank milk or at least made a vision that she was drinking it.

"_G'day Autolycus,"_ She said as he was passing by their table.

"_Oh, Xena. What brings you here?"_ He grinned broadly.

"_I can ask you the same question,"_ She wore a set smile.

"_Is he alright?"_ Autolycus looked worriedly at the man.

"_Yes, just drank too much. How about that money you owe those gentlemen over there. Should I tell them how exactly you were cheating?"_ She smiled even wider.

"_Hey, what do you mean? Can you speak quieter? There's a child here,"_ He whispered to her conspiratorially staring at Gina.

"_Don't worry, she's with me."_

"_Wow, I didn't know you had a child!" _He stared at the girl astonished.

"_She's not my mother."_

"_She's not my daughter."_ Both Xena and Gina pronounced in unison.

"_Look, I'm short of money right now. She's badly ill. If you lend me some money I'll give it back as soon as I earn some," _Xena spit the information out. She wasn't used to ask for something, especially, Autolycus.

"_In this case, I have a better proposal. I help you cure …" _He didn't know Gina's name, _"… the child but you help me to steal a precious ancient scroll from the castle."_

Xena pursed her lips but gave her hand to conclude this unfair bargain. Bargains with Autolycus were always unfair. Nevertheless, they shook hands.

"_Fine, I know a good place where we can stop and take care of the… child."_

Xena raised her eye-brow.

"_I choose the place if I'm paying for it,"_ He said nonchalantly.

"_Lead the way."_ She grumbled and they followed the man.

Autolycus rented a house of an old woman whose name was Herta. She was about 65 or 70 winters. In the mouth still remained five teeth, that's why, she hissed a little when she spoke. At the same time, the woman was very agile and did all the things in the house herself. Autolycus introduces Xena and Gina as his wife and daughter respectively. The princess warrior looked askance at him but didn't say anything. She asked the old lady where she could find a shop of an alchemist or a herbalist.

"_What a man are you that let's his woman go in that stormy weather without a good rain cloak? Here, darling, take this, please,"_ the landlady gave Xena a good waterproof coat made of well-dressed skins when the warrior wanted to go out to buy some medicine to treat Gina with something appropriate. The girl was already in a soft bed under a blanket with a wet cloth on her burning forehead.

"_Oh, thank you, Herta. We have been travelling for hours today. My rain cloak is soaked." _Xena made an excuse.

"_What husband are you? You let your wife dress in this,"_ She looked at Xena critically, _"I can even name this a proper tunic. Roman soldiers have more modesty when your wife!"_

"_Oh, I like her that way. It makes me horny, you know what I mean?" _Autolycus put his arm around Xena's waist lower than it had to be. He grinned widely. The warrior played along. She put her hand on his back as if she wanted to hug him but instead pressed one of the pain spots on his spinal cord so hard that the man nearly jumped overwhelmed with pain.

"_In my time husbands held sacred their wives' modesty,"_ the old woman hemmed and went in the kitchen.

In the evening when Gina took four really reeking and disgusting solutions, ate a quarter of the jar of honey and drank strong herbal tea, Xena was sitting at the table in Autolycus room talking to the thief.

"_I found out, that guards at the gates change at dawn and dusk. The name of the commander is Rasmus," _Xena shared the information with her so called 'husband'.

"_Lord Maltus is leaving the castle in three days. Before that, I need a detailed map of the viaduct that is built under the castle. Also I need to know how much security is at each door of the castle leading to the treasury,"_ Autolycus explained.

"_Do you have any idea?" _

"_Yes, tomorrow is a Bacchus day. People would be celebrating. While lord Maltus will be in the central square drinking wine and making merry. I arranged a meeting of our brave guards and ten ladies whose profession isn't that respected but in a very high demand."_

"_And?" _Xena looked at him quizzically trying to control her anger waiting for his next remark.

"_And you have an honorable duty to get inside the castle together with them. After that you find Rasmus and very politely, as I'm sure only you can, ask him to give you the map of the viaduct,"_ the man proposed.

"_That's an extremely original idea. You forgot one little moment. Either I have to kill the man because I don't think he would be just having a rest somewhere while you in two days period take him by surprise in the castle or I have to learn this map at the very moment I see it."_ Xena paid him an accusatory glance.

"_Actually, I thought about it. You'll give him this,"_ the man gave her a phial with a strange liquid in it.

"_What it can do?"_ Xena took the phial with interest.

"_It will paralyze him for several days but he will be alive. Try not to spill it somewhere. It is very expensive." _

Xena rolled her eyes.

"_Where are you going?"_ he asked the woman who definitely wanted to leave the room.

"_I'll be sleeping with Gina. She doesn't feel well at all."_

"_What will that old hag think if you're sleeping in another room?" _Autolycus protested.

"_She'll think that our child is ill,"_ with these words Xena went out of the room.

The night went through without any trouble. Although the princess warrior was worried even more when Gina woke up with the temperature higher than yesterday and began coughing uncontrollably for 20 minutes in a row. When the girl told her that her chest and back were aching when she was coughing Xena's mood dropped even lower.

The knock on the door disturbed Xena from her deep thought.

"_Good morning, girls. Look, what I've brought for you."_

Autolycus came in with a big tray. There was a wild strawberry pie, a kettle with hot herbal tea, fresh honey-cakes in shape of a fish, horse, bear and rabbit, boiled-eggs, some butter and fresh white bread.

"_Wow, have you robbed a bakery?"_ The woman was really amazed to see all these delicious things. She couldn't remember the time when she ate the wild-strawberry pie maybe in the early childhood.

"_No, I bought everything,"_ said the man feeling a little bit offended.

"_Thanks, Autolycus."_ Xena took the tray and placed it on the bedside-table near Gina's bed. _"So, little one, what do you want to eat?"_

Gina took a rapid glance at the food. It smelled deliciously but with such fever the girl hadn't any appetite. Her stomach could digest all these tasty things right now.

"_Thank you very much, Autolycus, but I think I don't want anything,"_ she pronounced and started coughing again.

Still the man didn't want to give up. He took a baked rabbit from the tray, which was the smallest from the honey-cakes and showed it to the girl.

"_Watch, I'll tell you the story about this small rabbit. Once he went through the wood and met a big hungry bear."_ Autolycus took the bear cake from the tray.

"_The bear wanted to eat him but the rabbit had a potion of invisibility with him. He drank the potion and disappeared." _The man showed a rabbit in his palm, then he made some gestures and the baked rabbit disappeared. Of course, Gina knew that it went into man's sleeve but she didn't see it. The trick was performed perfectly.

"_The bear searched for the small rabbit and couldn't find him. He went away disappointed. But the rabbit appeared in the house of one little girl who was very ill and didn't want to eat anything. He thought he would stay with the girl to keep her company until she gets better." _Autolycus put the bear on the tray but the child couldn't see the rabbit anywhere.

"_And where is the rabbit?"_ asked the girl.

"_I don't know, he said if the girl didn't eat anything he will never appear before her,"_ the man teased the child.

"_I know where it is, in your sleeve." _Gina pronounced very satisfied with herself.

Autolycus rolled up his sleeves. The girl didn't believe him and she sat up on the bed to search the man but after she patted all his clothes she couldn't find the rabbit.

"_It's not fair, where is it?" _

"_I'll tell you if you eat something." _He said firmly.

Unwillingly she ate some wild strawberry pie, tea and Xena gave her those reeking medicines again.

"_You told me, you show me where it is!" _Gina demanded.

"_Look under your pillow."_ He answered simply.

The girl found the baked rabbit there. She was surprised because she didn't see the man put the cake under her pillow.

"_How did you do that?"_

"_And this is another story." _The man winked at her.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for all the reviews that you've been writing on this story. I hope this time I get the most number reviews I've ever had for my most reviewed story "The Bess" which I wrote on "The Legend of the Seeker" series. Thank you for your interest.**_


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